Dr Pepper Turns to Fans in Tuition Giveaway

December 4, 2012

This past weekend, four students saw their lives transformed as they were each awarded $100,000 grand prizes in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway at four college football conference championship games. Now Dr Pepper is turning to its fans to help select the final grand prize winner of the season.

Through Dec. 17, fans can visit DrPepperTuition.com and Facebook.com/DrPepper to view videos submitted by 10 additional students and vote for five contestants to compete for $100,000 at the Discover BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 7 in South Florida.

“Nothing beats the feeling of awarding a tuition check to a deserving student, and we’re thrilled to invite Dr Pepper fans to be a part of that experience,” said Leslie Vesper, director of brand marketing for Dr Pepper. “Any tuition assistance can make a difference, but $100,000 toward a college education is a life-changer. We’re looking forward to seeing which five contestants our fans choose for a chance at this ultimate grand prize.”

With more than $1 million in tuition money to give away this football season, Dr Pepper asked fans to submit 60-second videos online at DrPepperTuition.com explaining why they deserve a chance to win tuition throughout the college football season. The company awarded $100,000 grand prizes at the Dr Pepper ACC Championship, the Big Ten Championship, the Pac-12 Championship and the SEC Championship, as well as at the Cowboys Classic this past September.

The selection of Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway grand prize finalists is based on criteria such as a description of how the tuition money and a college education will help the student make an impact in the world and overall presentation quality.

For the grand prize competition, two finalists throw footballs from the five-yard line into a two-foot hole in an oversized Dr Pepper can replica, attempting to complete the most throws in 30 seconds. The winner takes home $100,000 in tuition and the runner-up receives a $23,000 tuition prize. The three contestants who do not advance past a preliminary throw, as well as the five students not chosen from the vote to attend the game, will be guaranteed $2,500 in tuition money.

The competition will be aired on ESPN during pre-game coverage of the Discover BCS National Championship Game.

In addition to voting on the contestants invited to South Florida to try for the grand prize, fans can also still submit their own videos through Dec. 31, 2012, for a chance to win a $2,500 tuition prize.